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iOrganize with iCal

It’s time to turn your tech addiction toward productivity. Perhaps like you, my high school days were full of “I’ll wing it” and “I don’t need a planner” attitudes. The “I’ll wing it” attitude is still present here and there, but I definitely plan now. The iCal app has been a life-saver for me here at Boston University.

During my freshman year, I started out simply putting my class schedule into iCal. By sophomore year, I decided to take it a step further and put in my work schedule and any other extracurricular activities into iCal, like meals, gym visits, and family time. Then in my junior year, I took the ultimate and probably most important step – sitting down with each of my syllabi and entering each assignment and its due date into iCal.

You don’t have to wait 3 years to get the memo like I did. My productivity and efficiency studying would have been greater had I done this starting my freshman year. But hey, you live and you learn, right? Well, you’re learning right now! Try it out because it will save you tons of time. Also, the new iOS 7 software for iPhone has some great features for iCal. If you have seen the movie Batman, it’s almost like having Alfred the butler on your phone. It lets you know upcoming birthdays, the weather, and activities of the day.

If you don’t have Apple products, don’t worry! Microsoft offers great calendar tools on Outlook.com, as does Google with Google Calendar. Remember that in the professional world, it’s hard to come by an office or position that doesn’t stay highly organized with a calendar. You can learn to be efficient and productive with your time now, while investing in a skill that you will certainly use post-graduation.